This is a very important topic. Krsna is Bhagavan, who can bind Him? According to the conceptions of the scriptures, sastra sidhanta, He is called Bhagavan, He is called paramatma, He is called brahman, He has three aspects: Brahman, effulgence from His body; Paramatma or super soul because He resides in the hearts of all living entities and third, Bhagavan, who has six opulence’s. For this regard, Satyavrata Muni glorifies this lila, Damodar lila, and we sing:

(Sri Damodarastakam - spoken by Satyavrata Muni: )

namamisvaran sac-cid-ananda rupam

lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam

yasoda-bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam

param rstam atyantato drutya gopya (1)

"I worship the Supreme Isvara, Sri Krsna, whose form is sac-cid-ananda, whose fish-shaped earrings swing and play upon His cheeks, who is supremely splendorous in the transcendental dhama of Gokula, who, due to breaking the yogurt pot, is very fearful of Mother Yasoda and jumping down from the wooden grinding mortar quickly runs away, and who, chased by Yasoda, who hastily runs after Him is ultimately caught from behind."

rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mrjantam

karambhoja-yugmena satanka-netram

muhuh svasa-kampa-tri-rekhanka-kantha-

Sthita-graiva-damodaram bhakti-baddham (2)

"I worship that Damodara who, afraid of the stick in His mother’s hand, cries and time and again rubs His eyes with both His lotus hands, whose eyes express extreme fearfulness, whose sobbing makes the jeweled and pearl necklaces upon His neck marked with three lines shake, and whose belly is bound only by His mother’s devotion."

itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde

sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam

tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam

punah prematas tam satavrtti vande (3)

"By childhood pastimes such as this, He perpetually immerses the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of pure bliss, and through them informs the devotees desirous of knowing His aspect of supreme opulence and majesty that He is conquered only by those who are free from knowledge of His aisvarya- with great love I again and again worship that Damodara Sri Krsna."

Srila Sukadev Gosvamipad told to Maharaja Pariksit: “Listen, I will tell you a very nice, beautiful and sweet pastime of Krsna, how Mother Yasoda binded Krsna”.

This is called janma bhandan lila, Gopal was a little bit grown up and every day He used to go to the house of the brajavasis to steal butter and disturb their babies. So braja gopis everyday complained to Mother Yasoda: “Your son, Gopal, comes to our house and disturbs us!”. But Mother Yasoda did not believe. She thought: “How is possible that my Gopal comes to your houses and disturbs you and steals butter? In the whole Braj, the topmost milk comes from cows (padmananda) which are from the house of Vrsabhanu Maharaja and from our house, Nanda Maharaj´s house. Our cows are called padmabhanda cows…”

So, when the gopis complained, Mother Yasoda used to laugh and did not believe it, and say “Why don’t you hang your butter high up from ceiling?” The gopis replied: “Your Gopal is very naughty and very clever he has many friends, Subhal, Sridham and Madhumangal. They come and kneel down a little bit, so one by one they climb on each other’s shoulder and Krsna climbs on the top of the last shoulder and steals butter”.

Mother Yasoda then suggested: “So, why don´t you turn the light off so the room will be completely dark and therefore they cannot see where your butter is?” To this gopis said: “Mother Yasoda, He’s very delightful and so much effulgence comes out from His body so in this way they can automatically see where the butter is… If we wake up and see Him we say ‘thief, thief!’, He just laughs at us. What to say, Mother Yasoda, your Gopal’s teeth are like thousands and thousands of moons, rays of that moon coming from his teeth and automatically illuminates our whole houses. He laughs and we become completely intoxicated, looking at His beautiful lotus face like the moon. Your Gopal knows some hypnotism. He laughs very nicely and we remain staring at Him while He is happily stealing butter...”

(Meaning: Sri Sukadeva Goswami continued: One day when mother Yasoda saw that all the maidservants were engaged in other household affairs, she personally began to churn the yogurt. While churning, she remembered the childish activities of Krsna, and in her own way she composed songs and enjoyed singing to herself about all those activities.(SB 10.9.1-2)

This sloka - ekada grha-dasisu – means that one day, Mother Yasoda told all her maidservants: “Today I am giving you a day off, you can go to the beach. Today I will churn yogurt with my own hands and make a very nice fresh butter and feed my Gopal”.

Now, Gopal was about only two and a half years old. He was sleeping on the bed. Mother Yasoda woke up on the Brahma muhurta, took bath and put beautiful and pure clothes.

We serve Krsna and this means we have to use pure clothes, cham vastra, not dirty clothes. This is the process. Mother Yasoda took bath early in the morning, on the Brahma muhurta and put very nice, fresh and clean clothes. While she was churning the yogurt (dhahi manthana), sometimes she looked at the lotus face of her Govinda Gopal.

Now, a little bit of tattva siddhanta:

When the perfect love comes, two things happen, you will never be satisfied from taking darshan of your ishtadev and you think again and again in taking darsan.

So, Mother Yasoda had so much love and affection for her Gopal that while she was churning yogurt, she was taking darsan of the lotus face of Govinda again and again.

Govinda Gopal, Bal Gopal, looks so sweet with the eyes closed. Gopal is Bhagavan when His mother notices Him, He closes His eyes, and when she churns the yogurt, He opens His eyes to see what His mother is doing.

Babies are very clever and they know how to cheat their mothers. Mother thinks “My baby is very nice”, but her son is completely cunning. Sometimes you notice that your child is reading when you enter the room, but as soon as the mother leaves the room the child picks up the videogame. When she returns again they seem to be reading. Mother thinks: “Oh, my son is very nice and is studying nicely”.

In the same way, Mother Yasoda thinks her son was asleep, but Krsna was not.

She was churning the yogurt and glorifying her own son’s pastimes singing sweet melodies like:

Gopal noticed His mother was not giving attention to Him, before, she was singing and looking at Him but now she was not looking.

He got off His bed using His belly. He had no clothes but only one small rope around His waist.

Mother Yasoda was completely absorbed churning the yogurt, then Krsna came from behind her back and with one hand He held her braid and with the other hand He held the stick to churn yogurt. Suddenly, the churning of yogurt stopped its movement. So Mother Yasoda thought: “Oh, what has happened? Why churning yogurt movement has stopped? Who is holding my braid?”. When she turned, she saw: “Oh, it is my lala, Gopal!” And she carried Him and seated Krsna in her lap and started to feed Him with her breast milk.

Nearby, on the stove, the milk was boiling, this milk was thinking: “My life is useless because mother Yasoda’s breast milk will never finish. Thousands and thousands of years, if Krsna sucks the breast of Mother Yasoda, the breast milk will never finish as her milk is connected to the cid-samudra, the ocean of milk. So how is possible that the ocean of milk will finish if it will never finish?” The milk was thinking its life is useless and it cannot serve Krsna.

Try to understand that everything in Goloka Vrndavan is cin-maya and sat-cid-ananda, eternal and transcendental. There’s no inert energy there. Everything is sac-cid-ananda, transcendental.

Mothers usually think: “I’m feeding my son with my breast milk”. Actually this is not true, this is false ego conception. This milk is coming from Krsna Govinda because Krsna knows that the son is not hers, he is His, and He gave His son to her because in that way she can give nourishment to His baby. The sastra explains: Who is our real mother? Krsna is our real mother.

"O Govinda, you are my mother, my father, and my friend. You are my knowledge and my only wealth, You are everything to me everything for me and the God of all gods."

But, in this material world, mothers think that “this is my son and I’m feeding him with my breast milk”.

Why didn’t the milk come from her breast before she gave birth to the baby? When the baby started to take solid food how did the milk stop from mother’s breast?

Material science conceptions are different but our spiritual science says that all breast milk come from Govinda. Govinda says: “He is my son and I give him milk”.

To think “he’s my son, I am the doer, and I am doing this and that”, this is called your false ego (ahankara).

Try to understand, our Gosvamis explained that when the baby takes birth from the womb of his mother, the milk comes out from the breast and when the baby starts to eat solid food, the same mother’s breast milk is not there anymore. Why not? Because actually, everything comes from Govinda, He is our maintainer, protector and destroyer.

Continuing, in the transcendental world, the milk was thinking “My life is useless if I cannot serve Krsna Gopal… Diktam diktam diktam - my life is completely useless, I cannot serve Krsna Gopal”. Narottama das Thakur says “kano nacha prana” - why am I living in this body if Iam not serving Krsna Gopal?

So, the milk thought: “I have to commit suicide!”, then it fell in the fire. Milk boiled over and was falling into the fire, Mother Yasoda noticed and said: “Hey Milk, no, don’t commit suicide, I will give you the opportunity to serve my Gopal!!”.

On the other hand, Mother Yasoda also thought: “Now, my Gopal is sucking my breast milk, but after a couple of hours, He will ask for butter and other milk products and with my breast milk I cannot make milk products for Him so I have to protect the milk.” With her left hand, she took Gopal off her breast.

Putana on the other hand, with her two hands, had the power of ten thousand elephants, but she could not take Krsna off her breast. At the time of the deliverance of Putana, Krsna was only 6 days old and now He is two and a half years. However, very easily, Mother Yasoda surprisingly took Him off of her breasts. How is this possible? This is called vatsalya-bhava.

Mother Yasoda went to protect the milk and Krsna thought, “Who is more important, Me or the milk? Does she love Me or the milk?” This is the conception of the babies. “Mother doesn’t love me, but she loves the milk”.

Krsna was very happy when He was sucking the breast but Mother Yasoda stopped Him from sucking. Is this bhakti or not? Bhakti means everything is for the exclusive pleasure of Krsna.

anyabhilasita-sunyam

jnana-karmady-anavrtam

anukulyena krsnanu

silanam bhaktir uttama

"The activities that are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Sri Krsna, or in other words the uninterrupted flow of service to Sri Krsna, performed through all endeavors of the body, mind and speech, and through the expression of various spiritual sentiments (bhavas), which is not covered by jnana (knowledge aimed at impersonal liberation) and karma (reward-seeking activity), and which is devoid of all desires other than the aspiration to bring happiness to Sri Krsna, is called uttama-bhakti, pure devotional service."(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.1.11)

Here, the activities of Mother Yasoda were not for the pleasure of Krsna so how is it possible to explain that this is bhakti? Does Mother Yasoda have bhakti for Krsna? Yasoda-maiya left Krsna unsatisfied and went to rescue the milk. This was not pleasing to Krsna. So how can we say this is bhakti?

According to sanskrit, there are two words, avyapati (under extension) and ativyapti (over extension). Vyakidos and avyaktidos, under-extension rule and over-extension rule.

This is Mother Yasoda avyapatidos, an under-extension rule. Krsna is unhappy, this is true, but this is bhakti.

Yasoda has no trace of any attitude that is completely agreeable towards Krsna, being constantly attentive to rearing Him and looking after His welfare. Krsna was to be nourished with the milk that was boiling on the stove. It was only for the idea of Krsna’s future benefit that Yasoda left Him aside to tend to the milk, therefore this action is also bhakti.

Our sastra says, Krsna will be pleased or not, but bhakti sees how big your sentiments are when you offer them to Him. Bhakti looks at your sentiments (bhava) and intentions. Krsna is bhava grahi janardana, He does not accept things, He accepts the mood in which they are offered.

You have to give more attention to Krsna with the things related to Him, because bhakti depends on asraya jatya bhava, the shelter of love.

The love that Mother Yasoda has for Krsna is called asraya and Krsna is called visaya bhagavan, the object of love. Bhakti comes always from the asraya jatya bhava because Mother Yasoda bhava, sentiment for Krsna, is vatsalya bhava, asraya-jatya-bhava.

Krsna is Bhagavan, which means, atmaram and aptakam, He is self-satisfied and the fulfiller of His own desires. When the sentiments of the devotees come, He feels stimulated; He wants to accept the devotees’ mood. When one thinks “I want to serve Krsna”, Krsna accepts it and so bhakti manifests herself in the hearts of the asraya-jatya.

Bhakti in Sanskrit is feminine gender and is in the heart of the devotee, not in Krsna. Bhakti comes from the heart of the devotee. If the devotee thinks: “I want to serve Him”, Krsna accepts.

The vigraha, sac-cid-ananda, is non-different from Krsna. The bhakta that wants to serve thakurji in a determined way, will have his seva (service) accepted. Bhagavan is atmaram and aptakam.

If you dress the vigraha or not, there is no harm, because He is Bhagavan. When the bhakta’s desire comes, the Lord gives expression to that desire that He accepts as service.

This service of the devotee captivates the heart of the Lord Bhagavan and He loses His atmaram and aptakam, becoming completely caught. At this time, Lord recognizes that “Oh, he will serve Me”. He then says “If you serve me, I will accept it”. The Lord is completely controlled by divine love and therefore He accepts the seva.

In the parikram, we always go to a place called Khadiravana, where Lokanath das Gosvami performed his bhajan and sadhana. He served his thakurji, Radha-Vinoda there.

His Thakurji used to say to him: “Lokanath, today it is very hot, I can’t sleep. Please, fan me”. At that time, there were no fans so he used to fan the Thakurji with branches and leaves. Thakurji then told him: “Tonight l did so much rasa-dance, so my feet are paining and I am tired because the gopis made me dance so much! Please massage my feet.” Lokanatha dasa Goswami joyfully massaged His feet.

Vigraha is not made of metal, we think vigraha is made of metal or wood, but it’s not. “Lokanath, oh, I’m very thirsty, give me water”. Then he gave water. Then, Thakurji would say: “I’m very hungry. Please, prepare some very nice puris and potato sabji”.

At midnight, Lokanath das Goswami would wake up prepare puri, sabji and fed thakurji. Then, thakurji said: “Oh, Lokanath, massage my feet again, there is so much pain...” In this way, Lokanatha devoted himself in body, mind and soul to Radha Vinod. There are many lilas that happened in Khadirban.

Bhagavan means atmaram and aptakam, however when devotees’ servitor mood comes, then Bhagavan hankers to accept service from them.

Mother Yasoda captivated Krsna with vatsalya-rasa and Krsna was completely controlled by her vatsalya-bhava. So externally, we are thinking Mother Yasoda stopped feeding Krsna with breast milk and Krsna is not pleased and this is not bhakti, but this is bhakti, under the extension rule.

There is another rule, over-extension rule; ativyapti dosa enters into the definition of bhakti. Krsna was very happy while wrestling with Chanura and Mustika. Is this bhakti? In this sloka definition of Bhakti is anukulya which means behavior or engagement that is pleasing to Krsna.

When the asuras Chanura and Mustika struck the limbs of Sri Krsna in the wrestling match, it gave great happiness to Him. He began to taste vira-rasa (heroism) with great enthusiasm in their company. In this example the asuras activity of striking the Lord appears to be pleasing Krsna.

A doubt arises here as to how the activity of the asuras can be bhakti? Our Gosvami says: wrestling match appears to be pleasing to Krsna but this is not bhakt because Chanura’s and Mustika’s inner object is not to give pleasure to Krsna. They are non-devotee, abhaktas, so, they cannot give pleasure to Krsna.

Chanura’s and Mustika’s inner object is to kill Krsna, this is opposite of serve and give pleasure to Him. So, for this regard, though Krsna is happy to wrestle, this is not bhakti and this is the over-extension rule. Bhakti depends on the feeling of the devotees, what kinds of sentiments, bhava, are in their hearts.

anyabhilasita-sunyam Jnana-karmady-anavrtam

anukulyena krsnanu-silanam bhaktir uttama

(CC Madhya 19.167)

This sloka, anabhilasita sunyam, has many commentaries from Srila Visvanath Cakravartipad, Jiva Gosvami that very nicely explains each word of the verse, with many kinds of sentiments. If you have these sentiments, bhava, then Krsna will accept you. This bhava has many types: kryatmika, bhagumatka… and also negative and positive types. You have to consider them, and then you will understand.

So now, Krsna is very unhappy because Mother Yasoda left Him unsatisfied and went to rescue the milk. This was not pleasing to Krsna. His tiny lips began to tremble with anger and He cut His own lips with His teeth.

Sometimes, the babies get very angry and beat their mother’s. Krsna wanted revenge. He was thinking: “Mother doesn’t love me. She loves the milk more than Me.” Sometimes babies are stubborn and they want to take revenge.

I have already told how Sita Devi was stubborn. There are three dangerous stubbornness, babies’ stubbornness, ladies stubbornness and kings’ stubbornness. Stubbornness means heat. Kings say: ‘I will do this’! Ladies stubbornness is very, very dangerous, you cannot believe. Lakshmana tried to understand what happened with Sita Devi. It was very difficult to pacify her at that time. She thinks: ‘the whole world can be destroyed, no harm, I will do this’. Sita Devi did this. Whole Ramayana is the symptom of Sita Devi’s stubbornness and the whole Mahabharata was caused because of Draupadi’s stubborn nature. She said to the Pandavas: “If you don’t give me the blood of Dusasana, I will never again bind my braid”. Then, she left the hair untied. “When you bring the blood from the chest of Dusasana, I will bind my hair”. But her behavior was a false abuse, false because she laughed and criticized Duryodhan and did not recognized her fault.

Baby Krsna’s stubbornness wanted to take revenge of Mother Yasoda who interrupted Him from drinking milk. When she was not in the room, He took one stone and threw at the yogurt pot. Krsna easily made one small hole in the pot because the clay pot was thin. The milk started to flow like water. Krsna then kept looking and thinking: “Oh, very nice, the milk is flowing quickly from a hole, a very strong flow”. In no time all the milk spread everywhere in the courtyard. Even Krsna’s feet were wet. For Him, this looked very nice.

Sometimes, babies are very curious and in the same way Krsna was curious and remained looking how the milk was flowing.

Krsna was a completely innocent baby and thought: “I have to go to another room to steal butter”. So He took one mortar, put it upside down and climbed on it and tried to take butter from the pot.

So many crows and monkeys arrived and Krsna remembered His Rama lila when He could not feed the crows and monkeys, specially the monkeys who worked hard and helped so much in the battle of Lanka: “Now I can feed them because at that time I did not feed them”. Lord Ramacandra didn’t give anything to them and they had to look for some fruits here and there. “Now, in my Krsna lila, I have to feed monkeys and crows’ devotees with some butter”. So He threw the butter to them, due to their nature, monkeys and crows came quickly screaming to eat.

Mother Yasoda returned back to protect the milk and saw the whole courtyard full with milk and the yogurt pot with a hole. She became very angry thinking: “Is this the behavior of my son? Why is He angry? I have to punish Him because this is an offense, aparadha. I wonder where he is?”

She looked here and there and saw some foot prints. Thieves always hide themselves, but police find them. So, Mother Yasoda saw the foot prints and thought that Krsna could be in that other room. “He broke the butter milk pot and also wasted all my fresh butter”.

She took one stick and hid the stick behind her. When she entered the room, the monkeys and crows laughed and went away. Then Krsna turned around and saw His mother. “What should I do now?” – Krsna is very clever. So He jumped out through the window and ran out.

Brajavasis houses are completely open, they don’t have walls and the windows are like doors. Krsna jumped from the window and thought: “I must go to the main road, as Mother Yasoda will not be able to come there!” Household ladies cannot go outside on the main roads. “If I go to the narrow roads than she will run after Me!”

Mother Yasoda was thinking “I have to punish Him and I don’t mind going to narrow or main roads. If I do not catch my son, maybe He’ll be angry with me and won’t return home. In my old age, anyhow, Lord gave me a son but He may never come back and then what will I do?”

For these two reasons she gave up her shyness and chased after Krsna on the main road.